Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – A virologist who has treated H5N1 avian influenza patients in Vietnam said the antiviral drug oseltamivir may help avian flu patients even when started later than 2 days after illness onset—generally considered too late, according to a Reuters report today.

(CIDRAP News) – International health officials who met with Chinese health experts last week said the dispute over the "Fujian-like" strain of H5N1 avian influenza reflects confusion over names and vowed to seek an agreement on terminology for the various H5N1 subgroups.

(CIDRAP News) – International donors at a conference in Mali today pledged US $475 million to battle H5N1 avian influenza, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Dr. David Nabarro, the UN's avian and pandemic influenza coordinator, said he was pleased with the amount, even though has been saying that $500 million to $750 million per year will be needed for the next 2 to 3 years.

(CIDRAP News) – Poultry infected with H5N1 avian influenza pose the greatest risk of bringing the disease to the Americas, according to a new study by British and US researchers that challenges US efforts to detect flu in migratory birds.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Bank estimates it will cost between $1.2 and $1.5 billion to fight avian influenza over the next 2 to 3 years, a sizable increase since last January.

(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded four contracts worth $11.4 million in an effort to develop a 30-minute test for H5N1 avian influenza.

(CIDRAP News) – Internet rumors of a case of H5N1 avian influenza in a little boy in Rimouski, Quebec, were just that, Canadian Press reported today.

Several Web sites on pandemic flu reported rumors that a boy was seriously ill with avian flu at a hospital in the city, but hospital officials dismissed them as entirely false, according to the CP story.

Editor's Note: Shortly after publication of this article, the guidelines referred to were removed from the WHO Web site pending further peer review. A revised version was published in January 2007, with changes in the sections on considerations for launching an investigation, contact tracing, monitoring of healthcare workers, and technical references. A link to the revision appears at the end of this article.

(CIDRAP News) – A 35-year-old Indonesian woman died of H5N1 avian influenza today, marking the country's 57th death from the virus, according to news services.

(CIDRAP News) – H5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed at a second poultry farm near the site of a recent outbreak, South Korea’s agriculture ministry told news services today.